My name's Marella
by Surge-tastic
Summary: Marella is now a prodigy underneath the Neverseen's former leader, Fintan, in hopes to finding the key to control and manage her Pryokinesis. But training underneath a murderer to learn how to use a banned ability only leads to problems with her life. This is the story of a girl who learned how to be strong when others wanted her weak and her name's Marella.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** _**Before you dive into my story (thanks for giving it a shot!), I want to make it clear that this is a FANFIC story- not a real story- made by my own imagination, bridging off of Shannon Messenger's own original idea. I do not own this idea, neither did I create it, but I'm only expanding it in the way I believe it should go. Got that?**_

 **Anyways, this is my first Fanfic I've ever written down, and I do apologize for any grammar mistakes, etc. but I hope you can find comfort in my story as I did in KOTLC. Enjoy! :)**

Marella wished the rumors were true. The rumor that her dream was whispering about, taunting her about how close it really was. Yet the safety of it was too far to reach. In the blank landscape her mind roamed around in while she slept, the winds blew around her telling her one thing.

 _If you run fast enough your worries will disappear._

 _Trail behind you._

 _Lost in the your trail of dust._

 _You'll finally be free._

Over and over it taunted her. With no ending in sight. Marella clutched her head, hating the secrets that surfaced in her head, swirling around into a force that was much too strong to control.

For anyone to control.

She screamed, her voice carrying through the blank nothingness, hating her situation, her world, her feelings, but most of all,

 _Herself._

The person who she had created to appeal to others, even though they still wanted nothing to do with her. The person who was her mask, because Marella's own true self was too scared to appear. But now it was too late. That person had grown into who she was now, who she would be forever-

 _And she hated it._

The winds that were whipping around her, now began slashing into her body like knives, the pain causing her to curl into a ball, suspended in what seemed like thin air for what felt like forever. Then it stopped.

Cautiously coming out of her little ball, she realized it was a trick to lure her out to show her something. Something she would later wish she could forget. But how could she? In front of her was a wall of flames. Neon flames. A shudder ran through Marella's body.

 _Everblaze._

Tearing up everything she saw around her, and as she tried to stop it, it dawned on Marella.

The flames would always burn.

There was no changing that.

Ever.

The flames consumed her.

Marella woke up, breaking out into a cold sweat, shivering despite the warmth she felt from her dream. Clutching her chest, wheezing at the smoke that may have been real, a single question formed in her head, making her uncertain about many things.

 _Was that…. Real?_

 _Of course it wasn't_ , she told herself. But it felt like it was. She could still feel the warmth lingering, trying to tell her something, but what was it? The wind had been trying to tell her something too. The flames, however, had drowned it out. She couldn't help but feel like what it was going to say was important.

Something vital to her knowing.

But the time to think about that was later. Her father, Kace Redek, stormed into her room- literally. As a guster he could control the wind and he entered her room, riding on a wave of wind, just like he had when she was a small elf. Marella smiled. Some things never change. Her father wore a smile too, one that trailed all the way up to his ice-blue eyes that were perfect copies of her own.

His chocolate brown hair was swept into something that mirrored a wave, and his hand reached up to style it once again. On him, he wore a simple gray tunic underneath a pale blue vest, complete with his black work pants and a regular jeweled cape clasped together with the Redek crest. "Up and at them buster," He crossed her room in three short steps. 'I'm leaving early today, and won't come home until really, really late, so you've got to take care of your mom- got that?"

His eyes twinkled as he mused up her hair. Marella showed him a gentle smile. "Got it captain," She looked into his eyes. "Just be careful…." She had told him those same words everyday since the day of her mom's- She shook her head. It was best to not think about it.

He saluted her, and after flashing another smile, he kissed her on the cheek and rode out of the room, mimicking a surfer riding a wave, earning him a giggle from her. She waited until after he had exited the room, and then she got to work.

She stood up, yawning and stretching at the same time, releasing some of her morning breath from her mouth, and she began to notice what time it was. Clapping her hands twice, her midnight blue shades parted, running across her huge center window, a large rectangle that took up an entire wall of her room, and Marella was revealed to a morning sunrise, with the sun already set high into the sky.

With her bare feet touching down on the soft neon orange dinosaur fluff that wove in and out of her carpet (The gnomes had been kind enough to do this for her when she was a small little elf, after she had figured out that flowers weren't soft enough to be walked on bare-foot,) she walked over to a white door set next to a large bookshelf, and Marella entered her bathroom.

Walking on the cold granite floor, she quickly hopped to a small rug, and she sat in a plump purple armchair. In front of another large mirror that hung above the small table she was sitting at, Marella brushed out her hair with a jeweled comb, undoing the tiny little braids she had made that last day that wove in and out of her blond hair. After they had all been brushed out, she began making more tiny little braids and she tied them all at the end with a tiny clear elastic band.

She looked at herself in the mirror, satisfied with her hair job, and crossed the room to find the corner where her Foxfire uniform had been balled up and thrown at the day before, like every day, and she put it on, smoothing out the crinkles in it that would never go away.

After making sure she had everything packed and ready to go, she stepped out of her bathroom, and waited in front of her bedroom door. A deep breath prepared her for what she might see, how _she_ might react, and what mood _she_ would be in. Her hand grasped the cold metal doorknob, and Marella rested her head on the door.

She wished it wasn't like this. But she had to confront her. Slowly pulling the door open, she entered the hallway and went straight to the door across from her's. Calling out, she knocked on the door. "Mom?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** _ **Yay! Chapter 2! My school has been out for a week at most, so I really have found the time to bang these chapters out…. I thank all of you for giving this fanfic a try- it means the WORLD to me to know that my writing is actually worth something.**_

 ***reaches out and hugs you***

 **Seriously though. I'll try to update once a week, except for this week, ;), but I can't really keep that promise, you know, because I have this thing called a life- jk! Anyways, onto chapter 2!**

Caprise Redek may have not looked like Della Vacker, but she sure could give her a run for her money. As Marella cautiously entered her mom's room, the thought couldn't help but cross her mind.

Standing in the center of room that took up half of the second floor, Marella's mom wore a strapless red dress, which showed off her perfect posture and flawless skin.

The dress shimmered every time she moved, mimicking the flames she had seen in her dream. The air in the room seemed to no longer exist, as her chest began to constrict.

 _Fire._

Nothing more would scare her than what she had seen that night.

The flames seemed to appear in front of her at that moment, blinding her world, limiting it to the sickly neon yellow shade it had shined.

Sudden nausea overtook her, causing her to lean back on the wall, clinging her small frame to it like her life depended on it.

She only got a moment to take a break though. Her mom had noticed Marella's appearance, completely overlooking the nausea Marella's face displayed and soon she was storming over, her chin-length blond hair swishing around her face, seabreeze eyes glinting with anger.

 _Uh-oh._

Nothing good could come from her mom at this moment, because even though Marella wasn't an empath she could see the anger radiating off of her mom. Not good. "Where have you been?!" She screeched.

Her voice was usually a melody of words, but today she sounded like she was a heavy metal singer. "I've told you what- three times to go get ready?" A laugh escaped from her mother's lips, and she was trying very hard to not think about how much it rivaled an evil laugh. It didn't matter though.

At this moment this woman was not the mother she knew.

"You insolent child! Haven't you learned something!?" Her mother's words echoed in the room, and slowly slipped pins into Marella's heart.

"Are you listening?" Her fingers snapped in front of her face. Then she growled, venom in her voice. "I knew something was wrong with you the moment I first saw you."

That made Marella take a step back.

Her heart hurt- no- it _yearned_ for the mother she once knew, the wish contained in a single tear slipping down her face. _It's not her fault_ , She thought.

Another insult.

Another wish.

Another tear.

"Stupid child!"

 _It's not her fault_

"Are you even listening?!"

 _It's not her fault, It's not her fault_

"I HATE YOU!"

 _It's not her fault It's not her fault It's not her fault_

" _GET OUT OF MY LIFE!"_

The breath escaped from Marella's body, which was shaking like a leaf. If anyone else told her this- she could shake it off. Not a problem, because they were a problem to themselves if they thought of everyone else with such low standards. But hearing it from your own mother? That hurt.

 _Too much._

A river of tears now flooded her face. If this kept up, her mother would surely throw something at her, and she would be late to Foxfire.

So she tried something. "Did you take your medicine today?" Her voice wobbled, but the tears stilled. Hands in front of her face, shielding her mother's angry face from her view, Marella steeled her nerves waiting for her mother's answer.

A blank look cleared the anger from Caprise's face. "Did I….. what? Of couuurseeeee..." Another villain laugh followed. The disbelief in her voice though, told Marella otherwise. "You forgot didn't you? Hold up- I'll get it."

Hands still in front of her face, she slowly stalked the perimeter of the room, coming to a stop when she neared a marble closet.

Opening the door, she blindly reached for a round bottle, the one she knew all too well, and with her eyes now trained on her mother's she grabbed it and shut the closet. The bang it made when it hit the cabinet echoed around in the room.

Silence followed.

"Here mom." Marella stuck out her arm, waving the bottle in front of her mom's face. The orange liquid sloshed around inside. Caprise looked at the bottle, like she was expecting it to grow legs and arms, do jumping jacks and run away.

Marella pressed a hand to her face.

"Mom, just take it, please. I have to go to Foxfire soon." Her voice pleaded. Her mother stared back, and Marella was sure her mom was going to swat it out of her hands. But that wasn't her mom's fault was it?

Who could blame her for falling off the balcony, which resulted in a head injury that caused uncontrollable emotions? Maybe fizzleberry wine _was_ introduced to the mix- but still.

Why should anyone's mom be like this?

Why should any person be like this?

Especially in this world she lived in.

Especially here.

The tears threatened to cloud Marella's vision once again, as memories of how her mom was before the incident appeared in her mind.

Her mom laughing as young Marella put makeup onto her perfect face, making her appear as a clown doing a rush job.

Young Marella giggling when her mom guided the light to shine on her face.

Her mom reacted in each one with the right emotion.

Not laughing when she failed a test.

Not crying when Marella gave her a gift.

But she pushed those memories away, guiding them into an invisible jar she had stored in her mind, because those memories were dangerous, to her and others who could see them.

Something grabbed the bottle from her hand, and when her vision cleared, she saw her mom uncork it and swallow it in one, deep gulp. "Thanks mom." She flashed her mother a small smile.

But Caprise stood there staring into space. Just how she did when the serum went to work. A few seconds of blindness to the world, and then her mother was back. Her face trained on Marella's and she seemed to remember what she said to her just moments before.

Her hand covered her mouth.

"Oh, Marella- I'm….. I'm so, so, so so so sorry." She choked up. "I didn't mean to- it just happened-" Marella cut her mom off with a hug. "It doesn't matter," she told her as she buried her face in her dress.

 _It's not your fault anyways._

With that concluding her daily visit with her mother, she knew what to expect now. When she came home from Foxfire, no doubt would there be more of the same. But she couldn't focus on that right now.

She was already late as she was to school, and really needed to go. "I'll see you after school mom," Marella told her as she pulled away. "Of course darling- I'll see you too." A gentle smile was on her lips, but her eyes showed the sadness of what she had done to her daughter.

 _I'm see you too._

She took her mother by the hand and pulled her into the hallway, guiding her to the leapmaster where she shouted "Foxfire," proud of her voice for staying steady. A beam of light reflected on the ground and Marella let go of her mother's hand. It was cold.

Just before her foot reached the pillar of light though, her mom called out to her. "I love you- no matter what emotion I may be feeling, _please_ know that…." Marella smiled at that, hoping her mom had seen it.

As soon as the light began to carry her away, she saw her mother break into tears.

It took everything in Marella to not do the same.

 **Author's note: Ack! I'm sorry for making it so sad, and gloomy, but this is really what I would invision how her mother would act since of the head injury. I know many of you dislike Marella, but you have to understand that things are definitely hard for her too….**

 **Anyways, thank you for making it this far to my story. :) (Constructive criticism is always welcome!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** _ **Aaaaanddddd Chapter 3 is here!**_

 _ ***fireworks explode in the sky!***_

 _ **Haha- no.**_

 _ **Anyways, I'm really enjoying writing this story, and I'll keep on writing it until reaches a conclusion- or Marella actually gets killed off by Shannon Messenger's hand.**_

 **It's a solid theory people.**

 **But enough of that. I hope all of you reading enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it- without further ado, I give you chapter 3! :) (Smiley faces are vital to my survival) :)**

Foxfire was chaos. Not that it ever wasn't but still- the glass pyramid was crowded. After she had light leaped outside in the purple grass, a few tears had rolled down her cheek, ones that she furiously wiped away afterwards. Standing inside of the pyramid now, it took everything in Marella to not think about her mom.

Instead, she became hyper aware of everyone around her. She trying much too hard to not notice that everybody around her had parted around her like a wave. Her face burned.

At least whispers in the air weren't about her. Nobody suddenly started talking about her mom, "Crazy Caprise Redek," because that was old news now. Instead they were talking about different person in her life.

 _Sophie._

A group of green level fours next to her whispered furiously and Marella became interested when she caught Sophie's and Fintan's name in the string of words. A feeling told her that no way would Sophie actually tell her anything about this topic, so she made it her goal to look busy while she listened in to the conversation.

The council had supposingly sent an official ruling to Sophie and Alden stating that Fintan was to be performed a healing on, and Marella was amazed at how fast information got around.

She wanted to keep on standing where she was, to keep on hearing what the others were saying, but suddenly they all stopped, their voices no longer hushed, and they resumed their normal conversations.

Interesting.

There would be two reasons the prodigies would stop talking about the subject within seconds, which meant either a teacher or Dame Aline suddenly appeared. Marella scanned the crowd of prodigies, looking for the source of this "High profile person," having to stand on her toes to look over the older prodigies' heads, and she had no luck luck.

It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Except this time there was no need to look for the needle. There was the chiming of thousands of bells, and all heads turned to the far wall of the pyramid. Dame Alina appeared, in all her glory with her porcelain skin, and flawless features.

Then she ranted on with the morning announcements. Everything Dame Alina said went in one ear and through her other, she caught a few words here and there, but nothing really stuck, and Marella still couldn't see Sophie anywhere. Just before Marella was about to head to the level three floor, something Dame Alina said had caught her attention.

"As a result of the many prodigies who have not yet manifested- stop groaning!" She chided as a wave of sighs broke through the room. "We are going to be pushing you all to the limits in our new Manifesting Initiative!" She forced them to clap.

The bells chimed once more and all of the prodigies dispersed, resulting in a sea of kids trying to go everywhere- yet Marella just stood in place, lost in thought. That word- _Initiative_ \- she could've sworn she'd heard it before, but where?

She stumbled back, her head swimming from a memory so murky she never knew it was there. She wrestled with it, because for some reason it wanted to stay down. Marella wasn't going to let it off the hook though. Her thoughts an iron grip, surrounded it, and she began dredging it up.

It began to surface; Marella watched as it became clearer, but somebody bumped into her, causing her to lose the grip she had so precariously placed over it, and Marella whipped around- furious at whoever did that. But what she saw scared her. Nobody was there. As in, nobody was in the entire pyramid. Just G-O-N-E.

Where was everyone?

The thought echoed through the empty halls.

Panic seized her chest, and the walls seemed to be closing in, because she could've sworn just moments before there was a group of prodigies standing in front of her.

 _Marella…._

There. A single word. But where was it coming from?

 _Marella…._

She raced up the steps to the first floor. No luck. Then she tried the second. And the third. And the fourth.

 _MARELLA….._

She clutched her head. The word seemed to be broadcasting straight into her head.

 _MARELLA!_

She gasped. The pyramid had disappeared.

In its place there was something new. A scene Marella never knew had happened, yet she saw her younger self in it.

What?

It had taken place at their home, and as the memory played, she began to remember. There she was, a young careless elf, bounding up the steps to her father's office, and before she entered, she heard something. Something strange.

Her father was yelling at somebody; she had never heard him yell before; and she heard another voice in return, a voice of a male, but….. it wasn't a male. Through a crack in the door she saw a woman who shouted in return with the voice of a man. Her long hair flowed and as the memory began to focus in on her face….

"MARELLA!"

The shout broke her from the memory.

The white walls of the healing center blinded her, and Elwin's face greeted her. "What… what happened?" Her words were slurred.

"To be honest, all I know is that one moment you were fine and the next you were collapsed on the ground."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** _ **Sooooooo… the one chapter a week thing didn't work.**_

 _ **At all.**_

 _ **Not my entire fault since I did have personal stuff and the summer break to worry about, but anyways, here's the 4th chapter! Yay?**_

 **Thank you for following my story though, even though I have no idea where it's going to go at all, and well, enjoy!**

 **(Also don't expect a chapter anytime soon, I have the PSAT test coming up soon (HELP!) and I really need to focus on preparing for that instead of writing fanfic….)**

The words seemed slurred coming from Elwin's mouth. The room was dimmer than usual, and overall Marella felt like a big pile of sh-

"I don't know what went wrong- honestly." Elwin's lights flickered in front of her from yellow. Then red. And green. "I've checked your vitals, cells, and yet nothing is well, _wrong_."

She grimace. "I… I agree with that, it's just…." She trailed off. That word. What was it again?

 _Initiative._

She could've sworn she heard that before, maybe from a conversation or a book….. But there was a bigger question waiting to be answered. Why that particular word?

"Marella?"

She waved Elwin off. "I'm fine," She wiggled off the bed, her world tilting sideways as the blood rushed to her head. "Seriously… I could just go back to class-" She took one step and plummeted towards the floor. Elwin caught her shoulders.

"Hold up, you're not getting off so easy. I'm taking you back to your parent's house- now. In no way, shape or form are you going to shrug this off like it's no big deal."

He wasn't kidding.

A few minutes later, Marella found herself lying in her bed, while Elwin chatted with her mother. The conversation became drowned out of her mind once they started talking about her health, and ways they could improve it…..

But the bigger question she had been thinking of was still there. And it wasn't going away.

She dug deep into her mind, trying to follow trails of warmth to memories she had long forgotten about, but no dice. The whole process turned into something very angering, and at one point she burst out of bed, throwing her pillow against the wall. The jewels in it hit it at such an angle, the wall actually showed a dent, the wall now revealing old materials behind it. Just before she called to the gnomes to help her, Marella noticed something.

"This wall behind…. It's… burnt,"

What?

She never recalled something that involved fire, or even her house burning. Surely she would have remembered-

 _Marella couldn't believe what had just happened. Her chest heaved, breaking out into a sob. The tears now started, the big silent ones, that ran all the way down her cheeks._

 _She couldn't believe it._

 _Because the figure in front of her- she knew him. And it caused a pain in her heart, only one she would suspect as a heartbreak._

 _She had to ask him a question, one she already knew the answer to, but for once she hoped she was wrong._

 _She needed to be wrong._

 _Through her muffled sobs, Marella asked him._

" _Who are you?"_

 _The cloaked figure's face fell, a face she'd never seen that expression on, because that was not how her father acted._

 _No, her father was kind._

 _He cared._

 _He loved._

 _He didn't do this._

 _It broke her heart._

" _Marella, how much," her dad cleared his throat, "How much of that did you actually hear?" His voice hitched at the end. Anger filled her._

 _Liar_

 _Traitor._

 _Murderer._

" _Enough to know who you really are… who you were this whole time!" Picking up an object, what felt like a pillow, she flung it at him, not caring that he dodged it, not caring about the hurt in his eyes, because he deserved this._

 _He deserved more._

 _She barely had to reach for her fire- it was already there, waiting for her command- and she let it go. The fire surrounded Marella, but she did not burn._

 _But her father would though._

 _She let it loose._

Marella's hands were shaking as she woke up on the floor. She put them in front of her face to just make sure…..

"No," she breathed.

The memory was true.

Somehow her hands were on fire.


	5. Chapter 5

_**SPOILERS AHEAD!**_ **Pls donut ( Purposely misspelled) read this chapter if you have NOT read FLASHBACK yet! Seriously though, I'm moving the plot forward to when the newest book happens…..**

 **Don't say I didn't warn you!**

 _ **I finished reading Flashback.**_

 _ **And I think the cliffhanger is manageable- *Sobs in background***_

 _ **Anyways, I will be progressing on with the story! Yay?**_

 **The last chapter was centered around how she got her ability, meaning that Marella (in my own world of fanfic) lied about how she got the ability, not because she didn't feel good (Infinity war anyone?) but because of a "Flashback," that occured underneath the trigger word, "Initiative.".**

 **This story resumes after the events of Marella being recruited into the black swan, and after the celestial festival that happens in Flashback.**

 **Enjoy!**

The snow was nothing to Marella. After leaping into the desolate arctic landscape, her eyes narrowed in on a cave in front of her, one with a dark opening and icicles that looked like pointy teeth- a perfect place to hide a pyrokinetic. That was, if the elves were dumb enough to think that they needed warmth to start a fire.

She had noticed in the last month, how the cold never bothered her. In fact, the heat did. As a pyrokinetic she would have thought being in colder climates would make it worse but it didn't matter that there was no heat around. The fire was inside her. It was living. Breathing. And _so_ ready to be released.

And Marella wanted to let it go too. That was what scared her more than anything. Knowing she couldn't suppress the call to fire, and knowing if she didn't suppress it…. Well…..

It was best not to think about it.

So that was why Marella was not shivering as she trudged through the knee-high snow. Why she didn't shudder as the icy winds impaled through her clothes. The fire was inside her, warming her up.

It also was probably a strange sight. A tiny girl, dressed in a simple white, crinkled tunic, with some black pants and long boots, walking unfazed through a hailing blizzard, shrugging off the cold like it was nothing. Plus, she was right.

Stationed in front of the cave were two goblin guards, both looking down and eyeing her strangely as they begrudgingly accompanied her inside the prison cell. They walked fast, on ice that was almost like a mirror, and Marella could tell they wanted to get away from her as fast as possible. She didn't blame them. With every step she took, the ice melted underneath her feet.

It was hard already to control the fire. But it was worse when emotions came into play. Now especially, when her heart was racing underneath her cool exterior. Fintan though, had made Sophie promise to tell Marella the offer that was standing. Sophie got answers to the questions she wanted, and Marella- well- she was obligated to gain Fintan's guidance on her ability.

And to think the entire Lost Cities knew that she was a pyrokinetic training underneath a murderer. The cave around her started melting.

 _Get it together Marella! You've been able to control your emotion under much worse situations!_

Her mind flashed to Nightfall. Every step they took was a risk. Every noise, and every shuffle. Marella had been fine there, but then again after she got home, she had to play with the fire pit before she could calm down. So why should this be any different?

Some councillors would be there, monitoring the lesson for any sign of danger- ready to pull her out in an instant. She was going to be fine.

She hoped.

The guards had come to a halt, stopping in front of two very large doors, taller the goblins, who themselves, were very tall.

"You'll find the councillors in the room behind us, along with Finta who has been moved underneath this special circumstance. This is the only way in and out of the room. Try anything- and you'll never come out of here. Ok?". The goblin's squeaky voice delivered his threat, and Marella swallowed dryly, before nodding her head.

They stepped aside, positioning themselves on either side, leaving Marella to be the one to open the massive door. With a strong tug, she had the door creak open, with just enough room for her to pass through it. On the other side, the door slammed. Hard.

And there was a loud click to remind her of the seriousness behind this lesson.

No funny business.

She took a calming breath, and opened her eyes to see a room big enough to run a lap in, bigger than the Foxfire's gym, except for the fact that all of the walls, and floor were ice or snow. A big- bubble was it?- was centered in the middle of the room, and Marella could only guess who was in it. But she pushed that thought aside, just in time to see two counsellors walking towards her.


	6. Random Story Time!

**Hello Everyone! Author here. So, I haven't really updated at all since I don't really... like where the actually KOTLC story is going. Harsh right? Anyways, I've been having to do a lot of story writing in class, so here's one of the stories I wrote. The theme was Science Fiction and yes- I did get an A. *Blush* Without further ado- please enjoy. :)**

 **ALEX AND HER DEMON**

 _PART ONE_

She did not know how long she had been lying there. In the deep cavern where light was practically non-existent, a white mist rode over her body, following a cool, salty wind that blowed lazily from the north. There was no sign of any other life, except for the average plants; three leaves on a stem; that sprouted from the mud she layed on.

She groaned, staring up at the small hole embedded into the ceiling of the cavern above her. That was where she had fallen from. It was quite unnerving how it had happened. Stepping on what she had thought was solid ground, she took one, two, three steps until suddenly the floor broke from beneath her- ensuring a hard fall into the cavern she now occupied. Sharp pain followed, and she remembered nothing else.

 _How long have I been lying here?_

It was a tricky question to answer, and though occasional light flooded from up above, it held no clue. After all, she could only see the color purple.

Cautiously sitting up, the pain vividly came back, encroaching near her left knee and ankle. Her landing had been harsh after all, and it was no wonder she had an injury. However, there was a trickier question at hand.

 _How will I be able to get out of here?_

She shook her head. What did she have to do first? "Sit up.". She ordered her body to move, gritting her teeth when even the slightest movement made pain shoot up her leg. A small noise escaped her mouth. She was able to sit up though.

 _All right._

 _What else?_

A splint. She needed a splint to be able to move. Spotting a few twigs on the floor in front of her, she grunted as she extended her hand towards it. "Good enough.". Now she needed some kind of cloth.

 _What type of cloth do I have with me now?_

She took off the white jacket stained brown from mud (She could do without it) and ripped it into strips with the knife she found in her belt pouch. Before she knew it there was a splint positioned around her leg, allowing her to stand up. Leaning on the moist cave wall, she sighed. It was a miracle she was alive. After somehow surviving the crash, and only getting a sprained ankle when she had fallen through the floor, she _should_ have been praising every god she could think of. However….

 _Focus on the present, not on the past._

She had to keep moving on if she wanted to survive.

 _PART TWO_

Alex somehow got out of the cavern by relying on a few strands of rope, and her 'sheer strength,' which meant she fell on her first two tries. She was out of the cave though and that was all that mattered. That, and she was somehow still alive. Outside, she finally got a good look at the planet she crashed on.

It seemed to be a mess of a forest. She was standing on a mountain, and as she overlooked the land below it seemed to be nothing but trees and occasional rocks that peeked through the canopy. As she swiveled around taking in the panoramic view she spotted an ocean that stretched out farther than the trees could even begin to hope. It was a lovely shade of rich mauve, and she could only wonder how it would have looked in other colors. There were two suns in the sky, illuminating the land below with a light hue of amethyst, and Alex could see the hint of a moon in the horizon.

It seemed to be something in the air, accompanying the salty mist that sprayed from the rocking waves of the ocean, but crashing on this planet may have not been all that bad. Thinking back to the event, had she not done so, there was no doubt in her mind that right now she would be on her way back to the space base, where she would be briefed with command central for a few hours, before she was allowed on her way.

She would have arrived at her dorm with enough time to take a quick shower before she would be whisked off to command another mission with her squadron. After she finished that, it would be her curfew and she would be allowed a generous 7 hours of sleep before she was to rise and start her day all over again. But instead she was here, on this strange planet with no way off of it- somehow loving every moment. It was a great change of pace.

Maybe…

 _PART THREE_

The sun must have just risen, since it was still shining brightly overhead even a few hours later. Following the trail of smoke that rose into the air, Alex arrived at the scene of where her ship had crashed. It was not a pretty sight. Of the two wings, only one was intact; the other had taken on the brunt of the crash and was now in pieces. The windows were in place though, a good sign meaning she wouldn't have to hold her breath for the entire flight through space if she got off the planet.

 _Would that be possible?_

She shook her head. "Focus Alex.". Diverting her attention back to the ship, she saw the engine was a little busted up (nothing she couldn't fix) but now came the most important and decisive part of the examination. Would the communication be intact? She held her breath as she heaved the hood open, which revealed the pilot's seat along with the controls and steering of the ship. She hopped inside, turning the ship on. The screen in front of her flashed white before returning to the all too familiar radar she once spent a week staring at.

So far so good. Next she tapped on the screen, switching it from radar to signal readings. "FACIAL SCAN NEEDED. PLEASE LOOK INTO CAMERA.". Alex frowned. Normally ships like this didn't need a scan... "FACIAL SCAN COMPLETE. FACE NOT RECOGNIZED. WILL DESTRUCT IN 10… 9…" The screen went black. The ship turned off. Terror filled her. A high-pitched whining was filling the air, a sound she knew too well, and she struggled with getting out of the ship.

She had to move, and run. Run far, far away. "6…. 5…. 4…" She got out of the ship, landing hard on her sprained leg. She yelped, but pushed through the pain. It would be nothing compared to what she would feel if she was near the ship when it-

"2… 1."

 _Oh no._

BOOM! Alex was blasted forward, her stomach slamming hard into a tree. Vomit flew. Wind tore her back up. Sharp fragments embedded into the trees next to her, and a piece of glass embedded itself right before her nose. The force was so great she could not move, blink- hardly breath. The vomit stung her throat, and her eyes watered as dust flew in them. It lasted for only a moment, and she seemed to be suspended on the tree, until the wind stopped. When no other force was acting on her, gravity took the reigns and she began to fall.

THUD. Lying face-up on the ground, she heaved in the air that was forced out of her, and coughed up blood. It didn't stop. Each cough was worse than the other, until Alex was 99.9% she was dying.

 _What can I do to save myself now?_

Her mind was running out of options, and it was getting harder to think clearly. But then, out of the mess that was her mind, a single though appeared. Her bracelet. The bracelet given to her by her twin brother, one that would work only once- in a time of emergency. It had been a parting gift, due to the new circumstances that they would no longer be living together on the same base, and it was to serve as a reassurance, that even if they died- they could see each other no matter the distance. After all, war was unpredictable.

She struggled to raise her arm to her face, refusing to die now when help was so close. The silver band chimed as it came into view. "Hey Demon… um… I think I need help….". The bracelet turned warm, chimed three times and silenced.

 _Did it work?_

Then she saw it. The bracelet emitted a projection, and a body of a human appeared. It glowed a soft blue light; becoming more and more solid until a holographic figure of her brother was in front of her, looking quite annoyed. He was holding a medical kit. "Really Alex? I don't know how you got like this, but you just woke me up.". His voice was deadly serious, but his eyes were playful. "And for that I will never forgive you.".

 _PART FOUR (FINAL PART)_

Kace was different from your average person. As the youngest graduate of the academy and his spotless zero loss streak, he was a force to be reckoned with- even if he was only 16. Alex was his twin though, and the older one out of the two. She too was a captain- ranked higher than her brother- and for a short while she had operated a squadron with him in it. The two became known throughout the enemy side, until they inevitable gained the nickname "Alex and her Demon.". When she heard that name, she thought it was hilarious. And so from that day, Kace became known as 'Demon.'.

It was perhaps a day later after Demon healed her that she could move. All of the bleeding had stopped thanks to the new medicine that was being developed, and the soreness was practically nonexistent. The ache in her leg was gone, and she felt just fine. But. She was still stranded. That meant she had some work to do. Alex tested her body; it seemed to still work; and she clapped her hands in front of her. "Alrighty. Let's go see if I can fix the ship.".

It was perhaps a week later that she fixed the communication system. There was no doubt there was panic back at the base to look for her, but she decided that she wasn't waiting around to see if they would actually dispatch people to look for her.

She had survived eating off of a strange plant she had never seen before- bright red fruit with white stripes- but she deemed it edible after taking small bites to test if it was poisonous. As for water, she set up a system to boil the ocean water so that only fresh water would come out, leaving behind the salt.

It may have been enough to keep her alive, but she swore once she was off of this planet she was going to the most expensive space restaurant she could find and buy everything on the menu.

After moving back to the scene of the explosion, Alex concluded that the ship was far too broken to even be considered fix. However, the communication device was in fine condition, and she worked from there. "Ok... Time to see if this works.". She had scraped together enough pieces to wire a small box that would be capable of reaching base. At least, she hoped. She flipped the switch. Static. "Hello, this is Alex Murasakino- can anybody read me?" On the fifth time she repeated the call she got an answer. "Hello Alex Murasakino we read you. Please send over your coordinates."

A day later Alex stood upon the same rock she had emerged from a week ago, this time looking up at the sky as a ship entered the atmosphere. She waved her hands at it, signaling that she, Alex Murasakino, was alive and well despite being stranded. She watched it land beside her. The bay doors opened, revealing a small cabin where four people stepped out. A pilot, and three guards. She walked on board.

As they flew away, exiting the atmosphere, she looked back at the planet. It was a small blue blob with occasional greens.

 _If… If I hadn't been stranded there… I think… yeah._

She stood up, and walked over to the pilot who was flying the ship. "I know this will sound like a strange request... But would you mind uploading this location to my database?" The pilot looked strangely at her. "Um.. Sure Captain Alex.". She waved off the name. "Please call me Alex.". He nodded stiffly and returned his attention back to flying. She sat back down. After a pause, one of the guards spoke. "Sorry to ask Captain Alex, but... why would you like such a thing? After all you were stranded here.". She looked up at him, and smiled. "I thought that too. But… as I spent more and more time there, I noticed how much I was dreading my return. Sure I was stranded there- but what if I wasn't? That planet was an oasis, and practically untouched by this war. That's why I want to save this place. Because if this war- no sorry- _when_ this war ends, I want to come back here and live out my life.".

She could tell from their looks they believed she was crazy. But the pilot shrugged and pressed a button. The computer spoke. "COORDINATES SAVED TO ALEX MURASAKINO'S DATABASE.".

END


End file.
